It’s the age-old argument: Mac or PC? If you work as part of a creative team in a wider corporate organisation, you might think it’s better to stay with Windows and PC for wider-business integration, or if you’re a small creative agency who has always used Mac, you’re more likely to stick with what you know. So we’ve rounded up a list of reasons why we believe Apple kit is the right choice for design, publishing and creative industries…

Familiarity and compatibility

Designers and creative types know Mac, and according to a recent survey 83% of graphic designers, 77% of corporate design departments and 65% of ad agencies use Mac. It’s the platform you’ve been using since college and you’re familiar with how it runs. Working across Apple devices is easy – even if you’ve never used devices like iPad or iPhone before, there’s an intuitive feel to the operating systems across the devices, making them easy to pick up and operate.

Mac computers are the only computers that will run all the major operating systems, and industry standard creative software. If you run a Windows or Linux device, you don’t get to try Mac apps or test work on Safari without needing to invest in a specific solution.

Style

Yep, style is important too. As a creative type, aesthetics and design are important, and it’s important for the kit you’re working on everyday to feel effortless. Working on an iMac with matching Magic Trackpad and Apple Wireless Keyboard looks sleek, especially if you’re showing customers/clients around your office.

Total cost of ownership

Apple machines are professional machines for professional users, and when you look at the total cost of ownership through the lifetime of a device, deployment, productivity and downtime, Mac computers have a solid reputation. They’re portable and more durable than a PC. They might seem expensive at first, with a MacBook Pro costing anything from £800 upwards, but when you’re still running the same model three to five years later and you’ve spent very little of repairs and replacements, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. The notoriously Windows-loving company Cisco Systems now have 20% of their users on Mac (about 35,000 Mac computers), which they’ve done without increasing their IT resource needs.

Apple kit can also been seen as a valuable business asset for resale, especially if you’re a freelancer or run a studio, so keep hold of your tech and treat it with care – it keeps its value and should you need to sell it, you’ll make a good return.

Configured to order (CTO)

We stock the full ranges of Mac computers (including iMac, Mac Pro and Mac mini) and notebooks (MacBook Pro with Retina display, MacBook Air and 12” MacBook), as well as configured to order options that include extra RAM and storage options for creative professionals working with large amounts of data, or those who just know how they like their Mac to run. Our Mac Pro configurator gives you the options to select your processor, storage, graphics and memory options, select accessories and software.

When choosing your Mac we can make sure we fully load your RAM to run your Adobe applications with ease, or we can throw in a top graphics card or hard drives for working on large video so when you get it it’s ready to go.

UI consistency

Non-Mac apps can be subtly different in interface, whereas all Apple apps are consistent in UI and follow style guidelines which designers are used to. We like that a lot!

How does it all work together
The Apple Ecosystem

Software ecosystem

Mac computers are still the only computers capable of running every major operating system, offering the best of both worlds to corporate organisations running predominantly Windows, or creative agencies who might only need Windows for web design testing.

Hardware ecosystem

Because Mac computers are popular and relatively standardised, there’s plenty of top industry standard hardware out there for them. Even with smaller accessories like protective cases, there are more options available for a MacBook Air than a PC laptop. If you want a charging system designed to work with your keyboard or a backup drive, there are more products available for Mac than for PC.

Mobile ecosystem

If you’re designing for mobile, you need a solid link to iOS. Although you can make iOS apps with a PC, the preferred way is on a Mac. Opting for Apple offers greater synchronisation between devices and desktop computers.

Get in touch with the team to book a discovery and strategy session with our consultants.